Uncle Hong Lou Rong

Chapter 17
In the old courtyard of Huifang Garden, Jia Rong was discussing with several craftsmen of Zong Cheng how to build a cement kiln.I saw Jia Yun running from outside in a hurry, and said, "Brother Rong, I need you to come forward for something."

"Is someone embarrassing you?" Jia Rong asked.

Jia Yun nodded helplessly, fearing that Brother Rong would despise her.Brother Rong gave him a few things, one of which was to go to the brick kiln of the Jia family to support bricks.But when he went to the clan kiln, not only did he not get bricks, but he was kicked out.

"Didn't report the name of the Ning Mansion? Didn't you say that I wanted bricks?"

This is strange.The rich families in Beijing and the Zhuangzi outside the capital all have their own brick kilns.One is for the errands of the clan's children, and the other is that the bricks and stones can be used for building courtyards and temples for each house and family in the clan.

Now the Ningguo Mansion wants bricks, but the clan refuses to give them.

Jia Yun said: "I've said it, I've said it all. Even if I told the master in charge of the Liufang kiln that I could buy it at a price [-]% higher than the market price, they wouldn't want it. They said it was Brother Qin who wanted to build a temple, so the bricks had already been sold." They are all ordered. Unless we pay a few thousand taels of silver, they are willing to give up the bricks."

"It's really easy to calculate. I've earned all the money." Jia Rong asked Zong Cheng again, "According to the pattern on the picture, how much will the brick cost?"

Zong Cheng was not angry either, the price of ordinary blue bricks was very cheap.It's not about the "Linqing bricks" used to build the palace, thousands of taels of silver, these people really dare to speak.He muttered and replied: "One 20 taels of silver should be enough, and 30 taels of silver including the wages for building the kiln is more than enough."

"Did you hear that, the master of the sixth house in our clan is fooling me for being a local rich man. You can buy an old small yard in the outer city for a few dozen taels, and even a few thousand taels for an ordinary small yard outside Liangfu Street. I can buy ten of them."

Jia Yun said with a bitter face, "That's what I said too. But Mr. Pan of the sixth room said that the two mansions have never been short of silver. Every day, it costs hundreds of taels to eat, drink and play, and thousands of taels of silver to the Ning mansion. Speaking of which, it’s nothing more than a tip of a hair on Jiu Niu’s body.”

Jia Rong doesn't mind that small money is more generous on weekdays.It's outrageous to say that you want a few thousand taels of silver. "Have you asked the nearby brick kiln? Can you buy bricks?"

"Most of the outside of our Zhuangzi are Huangtian. The nearest brick kiln belongs to Qiu Duwei's family. The kiln owner heard that the surname Jia wanted bricks, and said he had to ask Qiu Duwei to make a decision."

"Who is Captain Qiu? Is the relationship with the two governments close?" Jia Rong asked.

Jia Qiang, who had been idle all this time, came out now, winked at Jia Rong and said, "Brother Rong, have you forgotten?"

"Brother Qiang, what's the matter? I have a good relationship with Captain Qiu's family?"

Jia Qiang was choked and coughed several times before she said: "It's not bad! A few months ago, you and Captain Qiu's son kissed each other's cheeks with your fist. If Feng Ziying hadn't pulled you away, you would have rolled the grass together. .”

"Eh... to be able to fight together, it should be a stubborn one?"

"I can't go to one place. The surnamed Qiu and our surnamed Jia have never dealt with each other. There are grievances and grievances of one or two generations."

feud?That can't be helped.

Jia Rong had no choice but to take the second option, and asked Zong Cheng, "Is there a way out of the official kiln?"

"Since the previous dynasty, government brick kilns everywhere have been contracted by private kiln owners. You can buy them, but the price is more expensive than building your own kiln and firing bricks." Zong Cheng said, "Master Rong really doesn't need to worry about bricks. , All of us who came out of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Industry are good at firing bricks. Even the "Linqing bricks" used in the palace are also made by our construction department."

Other craftsmen also echoed. They don't understand cement, don't they understand bricks?What does the camp repair department do?The first job is to burn bricks, professionally.Even Linqing, which produces 'Linqing Bricks', has set up a sub-division of construction and repair.

Jia Rong nodded, those people in the clan must not be used to it, don't they want thousands of taels of silver?

Don't want half of it now.Not only that, Jia Rong also made a note in her heart that she must clean up the bad habits of these people.

"Brother Yun, don't go to other places to look for bricks. Brother Qiang, go to Lai Sheng and ask a villager with a large land, just get a brick kiln and a cement kiln. If Lai Sheng doesn't give it to you, just ask him now that Master Zhen is sick. , who is calling the shots in the house."

Jia Rong wanted to see if the servants of the side branches and the mansion would show face. If she really waited until she went to find it herself, she would not be so polite.

After a while, Brother Qiang came with Lai Sheng himself.

When Lai Sheng saw Jia Rong, he hurriedly said: "Although I am the housekeeper of the house, I only do some trivial things in the house. The master has always been in charge of the various villages. The situation of the village... no one has been there several times except the master. It is the heads of villages from all over the country who send the money to the mansion, and the mountains, rivers and fields are all paid, I am afraid that the master himself is not very clear about it."

Lai Sheng has stayed in the mansion for decades, so he can see many things clearly.It is said that there is one emperor and one courtier, and it is the same in the mansion, one generation of masters and one generation of servants.Look at Jiao Da, who has worked so hard and made great achievements. He is a loyal servant who saved the life of the old man. Isn't he stubborn now?

Everything a servant in feudal society is bestowed by the master, your master has the power, and the servant can follow suit.Your master has lost power, and a servant will not have a good life.

Something like 'People who have served the elders in the family, even cats and dogs, are more honorable than young masters. "

Such words will not work in the Ningguo government.

The old housekeeper was afraid that Jia Rong might misunderstand, so he hurriedly explained: "The old servant can only lead the uncle to the village to look for a place where a kiln can be built."

"Alright, just take a look at the situation of the Zhuangzi living in the family. I heard from the master that the Zhuangzi in many places have suffered some disasters in the past few years, and the money sent is getting less and less every year."

Lai Sheng was startled when he heard the words, and wondered to himself, who has provoked this master again today?I hope that several villa owners are sensible, otherwise...

"Prepare the car, let's go and have a look together." Jia Rong smiled and became curious about Zhuangzi of Ningguo Mansion outside the capital.

On the way, Lai Sheng, who is the general manager of the mansion, introduced the history of several estates in Ningguo Mansion to Jia Rong.

"The land in Heishan Village in the Northeast was rewarded when the dynasty started an incident. The land outside Shenjing was given by the Emperor Taizu and earned by the old man. It has been divided from generation to generation, and only these few lands are left. .

In Master Jing's generation, Zhuangzi from all over the country has less contact with the mansion, and they only come here for renting.When Mr. Zhen becomes the owner of the house, there will be only a few village heads left to rent. "

Jia Rong knew that there was a high probability that the owner of the village outside was nothing, but when these words came out of Lai Sheng's mouth, it always sounded uncomfortable.This old guy is putting eye drops on himself, and he doesn't think about what's going on with your Lai family.

When Jia Zhen became seriously ill, Jia Rong's role in the mansion also began to change, and her personal interests also moved closer to those of the Ning Mansion.The money stolen from Ningguo Mansion by the Lai family and the villa owners is tantamount to stealing Jia Rong's money.

Jia Rong didn't give Lai Sheng a good look either, and said sarcastically: "Isn't it? The sky is high and the emperor is far away, there are always things that can't be controlled. I heard that one of your Lai family also came out of the house, not only bought Zhuangzi outside, I built a garden. I lived the life of a son and son in the mansion, and was raised by girls, mothers-in-law, and nurses like a phoenix since childhood, and a pair of eyes grew on the top of the head."

Lai Sheng smiled awkwardly and said, "It's all due to the kindness of the two governments."

(End of this chapter)